Stop the Dolphin Slaughter in Taiji, Japan

Around the world, September signals the start of school...yellow school buses, children with new sneakers, lunch boxes and sharpened pencils...

In the small coastal town of Taiji, Japan, September signals the start of something sinister... The annual slaughter of thousands of dolphins.

For the first time ever, in 2010 -2011, Cove Guardian Activists from Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and Save Japan Dolphins were in Taiji every single day of the dolphin slaughter, which ran from September to March...yet the tragedy continues...

The activists witnessed day after day, week after week, month after month, as pods of dolphins were hunted and driven into the Cove by fishermen using high-tech gear. Terrified and exhausted, the dolphins were systematically and brutally bludgeoned to death. Dolphin calves swam in their mothers' blood. By the end of the 2010-2011 "drive hunt" season, 850 dolphins were killed in the Cove. Another 171 were sold into captivity after witnessing the murder of their families.

Had they attempted to intervene, the Cove Guardians would have faced jail or deportation, neither of which would have benefitted the cause of raising awareness about the Taiji dolphin slaughter. Instead they harnessed the power of social media and reported the devastation in the Cove to activists all over the world in real time. In turn, these activists made thousands of calls, sent thousands of emails and faxes, and organized protests at Japanese Embassies across the world.

The presence of the Cove Guardians was felt - our voices were heard. The brutal killers of the Taiji Fisheries Union struggled to conceal their savagery behind blue tarps, but they were not successful. The world bore witness to the senseless killing of some of natures most beautiful and intelligent creatures.

Working with the Cove Guardians over a five day period in December, the facebook community Save Misty The Dolphin was able to help secure better captive conditions for a very sick dolphin named Misty, who had been left to die in a backyard pool. Suffering from a lung infection, Misty floated listlessly in blackened water until a non-stop calling campaign forced his captors at Dolphin Base Resort to move the animal to a clean pool and provide better veterinary care for him.

We are writing to demand an end to the brutal slaugther and captive trade of dolphins in Taiji, Japan.

There is nothing even remotely humane about this practice. Fishermen literally drive stakes into the spines of the dolphins, paralyzing them as they die a slow agonizing death in water that quickly turns from sea blue to blood red. The dolphins are then tied by their tails (some still alive) to the sides of the boats and are dragged to the butcher house. Those that didn't die from the brutal attack generally drown on the way to the slaughter house. Nursing mothers aren't spared, babies aren't spared.

Dolphins are among the most intelligent beings on the planet. Their brains are actually larger than ours. They are social, living in family units or pods. Mothers nurse their young. There are numerous accounts of dolphins saving surfers from shark attacks.

Numerous studies have confirmed that dolphin meat is heavily laden with toxic mercury -- and therefore -- POISONOUS to those who consume it. The recent disaster at the Fukushima nuclear power plant and the ensuing release of radioactive water into the ocean further jeopardizes the health of those who would consume dolphin meat.

You may claim that the dolphin hunt is part of your cultural tradition. There is nothing cultural about chasing pods of dolphins with a fleet of boats outfitted with high tech equipment. Furthermore, there is nothing cultural about selling the dolphins who are not slaughtered into a life of captivity.

As long as you continue the Taiji dolphin slaughter, we will continue to boycott Japanese products. We will also spread the word to everyone we know. We won't ever stop until the slaughter ends for good. The world is watching.